Varvara Gracheva became the first prominent Russian player to apparently defect from her country and many wonder whether something like this is just the beginning.
Players changing nationalities to represent other countries is nothing new in tennis and has been happening for many years. After Russia invaded Ukraine, many wondered whether some Russian players might switch countries with Rublev being one of the rumoured players. Gracheva is now set to become the first one to do it officially and journalist Simon Chambers whether others will follow:
“Guessing she might not be the last Russian player to change nationality in the coming months."
Another reporter, Ben Rothenberg wondered the same:
“A much-discussed possibility for Russian players, but will this become a trend?"
Another one, James Gray, added his thoughts:
“Interesting to see how many others do something similar, in light of everything."
Some fans disagreed:
"I doubt it will become a trend. The IOC is pushing really hard for Russians to be unbanned from all sports by the Olympics, so there's not very much incentive to switch now. And in tennis there never really was an incentive anyway."
A much-discussed possibility for Russian players, but will this become a trend?
Varvara Gracheva (22 ans, 54e mondiale) a finalisé son dossier de demande de naturalisation française. La Russe s'entraîne depuis 2016 à l'Élite Tennis Center de Cannes. lequipe.fr/Tennis/Article…
